Yoga-Related Injuries in the United States From 2001 to 2014
- PMID: 27896293
- PMCID: PMC5117171
- DOI: 10.1177/2325967116671703
Yoga-Related Injuries in the United States From 2001 to 2014
Abstract
Background: Yoga has become more popular among people in the United States and has been touted by both yoga participants as well as some physicians and researchers for its health benefits. While the health benefits have been studied, the frequency of injury among yoga participants has not been well documented.
Purpose: Injury incidence, rates, and types associated with yoga in the United States have not been quantified. This study estimates US yoga-associated injury incidence and characterizes injury type over a 13-year period.
Study design: Descriptive epidemiology study.
Methods: Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) from 2001 to 2014 were used to estimate the incidence and type of yoga-associated injuries. The number and age distribution of yoga participants was estimated using data from National Health Statistics Reports. These national population estimates were applied to the NEISS data to determine injury rates overall and stratified according to age categories.
Results: There were 29,590 yoga-related injuries seen in hospital emergency departments from 2001 to 2014. The trunk (46.6%) was the most frequent region injured, and sprain/strain (45.0%) accounted for the majority of diagnoses. The injury rate increased overall from 2001 to 2014, and it was greatest for those aged 65 years and older (57.9/100,000) compared with those aged 18 to 44 years (11.9/100,000) and 45 to 64 years (17.7/100,000) in 2014.
Conclusion: Participants aged 65 years and older have a greater rate of injury from practicing yoga when compared with other age groups. Most injuries sustained were to the trunk and involved a sprain/strain. While there are many health benefits to practicing yoga, participants and those wishing to become participants should confer with a physician prior to engaging in physical activity and practice only under the guidance of certified instructors.
Keywords: alternative medicine; elderly; injury; yoga.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest in the authorship and publication of this contribution.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Epidemiology of Patients with Dance-Related Injuries Presenting to Emergency Departments in the United States, 2014-2018.Sports Health. 2021 Sep-Oct;13(5):471-475. doi: 10.1177/1941738120984113. Epub 2021 Feb 6. Sports Health. 2021. PMID: 33550939 Free PMC article.
-
Characteristics of ice hockey-related injuries treated in US emergency departments, 2001-2002.Pediatrics. 2004 Dec;114(6):e661-6. doi: 10.1542/peds.2004-1565. Pediatrics. 2004. PMID: 15574599
-
Neck strains and sprains among motor vehicle occupants-United States, 2000.Accid Anal Prev. 2004 Jan;36(1):21-7. doi: 10.1016/s0001-4575(02)00110-0. Accid Anal Prev. 2004. PMID: 14572823
-
Gymnastics-related injuries to children treated in emergency departments in the United States, 1990-2005.Pediatrics. 2008 Apr;121(4):e954-60. doi: 10.1542/peds.2007-0767. Pediatrics. 2008. PMID: 18381523
-
Two decades of nonfatal injury data: a scoping review of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program, 2001-2021.Inj Epidemiol. 2023 Sep 7;10(1):44. doi: 10.1186/s40621-023-00455-4. Inj Epidemiol. 2023. PMID: 37679835 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Delivering yoga to people with hypertension in the UK: A qualitative study to explore yoga providers' knowledge, experiences, and attitudes.Health Sci Rep. 2023 May 15;6(5):e1260. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.1260. eCollection 2023 May. Health Sci Rep. 2023. PMID: 37197088 Free PMC article.
-
Psychophysiological Adaptations to Yoga Practice in Overweight and Obese Individuals: A Topical Review.Diseases. 2022 Nov 17;10(4):107. doi: 10.3390/diseases10040107. Diseases. 2022. PMID: 36412601 Free PMC article. Review.
-
A Computer Vision-Based Yoga Pose Grading Approach Using Contrastive Skeleton Feature Representations.Healthcare (Basel). 2021 Dec 25;10(1):36. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10010036. Healthcare (Basel). 2021. PMID: 35052200 Free PMC article.
-
Progress in Cheerleading Safety: Update on the Epidemiology of Cheerleading Injuries Presenting to US Emergency Departments, 2010-2019.Orthop J Sports Med. 2021 Oct 13;9(10):23259671211038895. doi: 10.1177/23259671211038895. eCollection 2021 Oct. Orthop J Sports Med. 2021. PMID: 34676270 Free PMC article.
-
Development of a yoga posture coaching system using an interactive display based on transfer learning.J Supercomput. 2022;78(4):5269-5284. doi: 10.1007/s11227-021-04076-w. Epub 2021 Sep 20. J Supercomput. 2022. PMID: 34566258 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Bachman R. Everyone is a yoga teacher today—to keep people coming back, studios offer certification classes; the number of new teachers is growing faster than new students. Wall Street Journal. September 2, 2015.
-
- Barnes PM, Bloom B, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States, 2007. Natl Health Stat Rep. 2008;12:1–23. - PubMed
-
- Benjamin C. What causes bone loss? Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia. Bethesda, MD: US National Library of Medicine; 2014.
-
- Brown J. Yoga alliance is ruining yoga. https://americanyoga.school/yoga-alliance-ruining-yoga/. Accessed March 21, 2016.
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources